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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What has happened to many of the local boys who also went off to war?

2. What was the occasion that Nettie's father would send her flowers?

3. What does Nettie reject in the third scene?

4. What is Nettie getting for Timmy's room?

5. What does the family plan to do as the second scene of the play ends?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Nettie and Timmy revisit their past at the end of Act 1, Scene 1?

2. What does Nettie get an aspirin for, and how does she begin to talk to John about the roses?

3. What is the topic of conversation between Timmy and John in the second scene, what is it that John wonders, and why has the question been left unanswered for all of this time?

4. What is John trying to convince Nettie to do as the final act begins?

5. How do Nettie and John talk about Timmy's drinking in Act 2, Scene 2?

6. What decision does Timmy make at the end of the last scene, and how does his father surprise him?

7. What is significant about the lake house and how does it apply to Nettie and John's marriage?

8. What surprise does John unveil as the first scene of the play is ending, and how does it affect Nettie?

9. How does Nettie leave at the end of Act 2, Scene 1, and what does Timmy discover?

10. What does Timmy conclude at the end of Act 2, Scene 3, and what does it represent for his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Act 2, Scene 1, John takes out his frustrations on his family.

1) Describe John's behavior at breakfast, detailing his interaction with the other characters.

2) Explain what the source is for John's behavior and why it is relevant to the theme of the play.

3) Explain whether you agree with John's actions, including the reasons why or why not.

Essay Topic 2

John admires Timmy's participation in the war and it is also a source of his own self-doubt.

1) Describe the conversations and events in the play that depict how John feels about Timmy's time in the war.

2) Explain how Timmy's experience in the war causes John to think about himself and his own experiences. Also, include what Timmy does to help his father come to terms with his doubt.

Essay Topic 3

The play ends with John making a surprising decision about Timmy staying or leaving. Describe what John has gone through during the entire play and why he chooses for Timmy to go. What does that illustrate for the family in general? How are each member of the family different as a result of the events in the play? Which characters have changed the most or least? What do you think is likely to happen to Timmy? How might his life be different? How did Nettie respond to the ending? What does that indicate a possible future is for her and her marriage?

(see the answer keys)

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